Weekly e-news April 17, 2020
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re filled with hope today!
And if you have some but wouldn’t call yourself exactly “filled” with it, why not try praying this for yourself a few (several?!) times each day:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!” (Romans 15:13)
I’m gonna put that verse somewhere where I don’t miss it!
‘Cause I wanna remember to not forget to pray it for myself everyday!!
“Remember to not forget to..”?
Yeah! You know what I mean, right?
I don’t want to forget to do certain things everyday.
So I have to remember to not forget to do ‘em!
I’ve been forgetting stuff a lot lately and I have to remember to not forget to do certain things. Like…
Take a vitamin everyday. (Never done it. Gummies are best.)
Take my mask if I have to go to Kroger’s (I used to go there everyday for something! So weird.)…
Thank God for this time we’re in…
“What?! Thank God for this??”
Well, Paul the Apostle does say, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus!” (1 Thes 5:18)
Maybe he doesn’t mean I have to gulp and thank God FOR every circumstance but at least IN all of them!
And, truth be told, there are things that are happening in the world…
and in my heart…
that wouldn’t have without all this!
When I was a kid on Thanksgiving, I didn’t know Jesus yet, but I always wanted to remember not to forget to be thankful like Thanksgiving Day everyday!
There was an old Thanksgiving hymn I loved.
“Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and hands and voices!
Who wondrous things has done,
In Whom this world rejoices!
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today!”
Remember that one? Along with “Come Ye Thankful People Come” it was kind of the Thankgiving carol!
It wasn’t written for Thanksgiving Day, tho’
It was written in the middle of an infectious disease outbreak.
In the middle of a horrible wartime.
The Thirty Years’ War…
“Thirty years…
Gross.
Martin Rinkart became a pastor in Eilenburg, Germany the year the war broke out. After 20 years of it, the invading Swedish marauders had driven thousands of war refugees into the walled city and in 1637, an infectious disease outbreak claimed 8000 within the walls of the city, including most of the city council and Mrs. Rinkart. The entire time, day after day, he cared for the sick, prayed with the dying and personally buried 4480 people.
Pastor Rinkart boldly walked outside the protection of the city walls to plead with the Swede general to have mercy of his town and starving people. The general was implacable so the pastor turned to his companions and said, “Come, my children, we can find no mercy with men, let us take refuge with God!”
And he dropped to his knees right there and began to plead to God for help!
The general was touched and gave in.
It was in the middle of all of this that Martin Rinkart wrote and sang his hymn!
From a heart-full of thanks to the One Who would never leave or forsake him!
“O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us!
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us!
And keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
Of this world and the next!
Wow!
If he could do it…
we can too!